The Problem With All-Day Two-Way GO for Brampton

Ontario’s Transportation Minister, Steven Del Duca announced expanded GO Transit train services from Brampton to Toronto today. We’ve already broken out the confetti cannon, popped the celebratory bubbly and done the happy dance at the mere thought of All-Day Two-Way GO services being available to Bramptonians. Take THAT ridiculous commuter wait times!

Here’s what you can expect:

Two-way, all-day 15-minute service seven days a week between Bramalea and Union Station

30-minute peak period, peak direction service between Kitchener and Union Station, with express service between Bramalea and Union Station

15-minute peak period, peak direction service between Mount Pleasant and Union Station

A platform extension to allow 12-car trains to service Bramalea Station, to be completed by 2017.

But wait…

It all sounds magical, but it didn’t take long for the rose-coloured glasses to fade, and they sure did when the announcement ended with no definitive timeline or dates of when Bramptonians can expect this service to begin. The excitement died about as fast as Kanye’s smile when a camera shows up.The trumpet was touted and a big show was made, to essentially be told what we’ve been told before, that Brampton is getting better GO service. But we’ve heard this before during budget and during municipal elections.

We want the goods; the gold, the meat and potatoes! Google Calendars need to be updated, Presto Cards loaded and outfits planned! The day Brampton has All-Day Two Way GO will be a momentous occasion, one we should not be left so cruelly waiting in vain.

Many Bramptonians have jobs to go to and business to conduct that relies heavily on this particular train corridor. They often find themselves at the mercy of inflexible service that just isn’t keeping up with their growing needs. Bearing this in mind, it seems no better time than the present to get this service up and running — and quickly.

No doubt, better GO service is a huge deal for the city. But as it stands, it’s difficult to be anything less than skeptical, as we’ve been given zero indication as to how long we’ll have to wait to see this project actually come to fruition.

The fact that public officials have formally announced that services are coming in the hopefully-not-too-far-but-unidentified-future is promising — we think? We’re certainly hopeful, but without any decisive dates or timelines, this announcement seems to be all about talk and less about action.

Le sigh.

The waiting game begins. For now, All-Day Two-Way GO will remain the mythical creature of GTA public transit; heard of but never seen.